Saturday, August 30, 2008

Rainy Days....



I had a fabulous wedding shoot last night take place in my actual church... so be on the lookout in a few weeks for those. Jessy & Danny were a beautiful couple to work with!

Tomorrow we head off! We start by taking Sunday to walk a couple Museums in DC, then going to a crabhouse on the Eastern Shore to pick crabs. Then we'll spend the night at my folk's house and head to the Outer Banks, NC for a well deserved week long beach vacation.

So, I will be MIA till Saturday at best.

Literally Missing In Action... b/c I don't plan to do much but enjoy the sand and surf and sun and...... ahhhhhh..............

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Mango Sorbet....


Isn't that a BEAUTIFUL necklace? I can't help but share what my super-creative sister-in-law Gen made for me for my Birthday. Gen is a born crafter... she beads, she solders, she even scraps. She's made herself some of these photo-charms with scrapped photos, and they are super cute! I keep telling her she needs to open an Etsy Shop. Would YOU buy from her? Leave a note if you would.... I think we need to peer pressure her!

I'm also considering offering this service to my Photography Clients....

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New! Mango Sorbet, a collaboration between myself and Nicole Seitler of Sugarplum Paperie.



A refreshing treat! The Mango Sorbet kit, by Andrea Burns and Nicole Seitler, is a delicious little number full of tasty colors, beautiful patterns and playful elements. This kit includes 12 papers, over 20 elements and a little canvas alpha with ampersand.

Get it HERE at TDC.

ANd now some wonderful Creative Team creations using Mango Sorbet....





And check out these awesome Hybrid Creations!


TFL! Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

As Promised....

Spaghetti with Pinot Grigio & Seafood

1 lb spaghetti
1/4 cup olive oil
3 shallots chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
3/4 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (drain some)
1 1/2 cups pinot grigio (or other dry white wine)
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveigned
2 lbs littleneck clams, scrubbed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 cups arugula, tough stems removed

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook until tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 3 minutes, until tender but not brown. Add sun-dried tomatoes and cook for another minute. Add wine, shrimp, clams and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce heat and cover the pan and simmer until the shrimp are pink and the clams have opened, about 7 minutes. Discard any clams that have not opened.

Add the spaghetti to the skillet with the seafood mixture. Add salt and pepper and stir to combine, then gently fold in the arugula. Serve immediately.


Raspbery Lemon Shortbread Tart

3 cups frozen raspberries (1 lb)
1 stick plus 6 TBS cold butter, cut into pieces
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
zest and juice of 2 lemons
powdered sugar for dusting

Drain and thaw berries in a strainer over the sink. Preheat oven to 400*. Using fingers to combine 1/2 cup sugar, all of the butter, and 1 1/2 cups flour blend till coarse crumbs form. Pour mixture into ungreased 9 inch round pan and press evenly to form crust. Bake crust until lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Remove shortbread and reduce temperature to 325*.

Scatter drained berries over crust. Beat eggs with remaining 3/4 c sugar and 1/4 c flour. Whisk in lemon zest and juice. Pour cream over raspberries and bake tart until custard is set, about 30 minutes. Let cool and dust with powdered sugar.

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I waited on pins and needles ALL day for the UPS man to bring me my new toy! It arrived at 3 pm, these shots taken by 4, LOL!

D700 & the 24-70mm 2.8 lens.




LOVE what I'm seeing so far. I did NOT tweak any color... on the D80 I was forever pulling back reds, but these colors are straight out of camera. The D700 is much larger and heavier than the D80, so I'll have to get used to that!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a wonderful weekend! It was a blast, like a birthday celebration all weekend long. Saturday morning I had a wonderful pedicure. I've decided to make that a yearly tradition, LOL!



The Lion King was like nothing I've ever seen before! Life-size animals that were manned by people, ie. men on hand and feet stilts for a Giraffe. They even had a life-size elephant make its way up the isle in the opening scene, and they flew kites as birds, man it was intense! The costumes were incredible, and of course a great story line. I walked out in tears, it was so wonderful. Even Nate really enjoyed it, and he never likes stuff like that.

We had dinner at the Red Rock Canyon Grille, where I had steak and shrimp, and an awesome bread pudding for desert.

Sunday I went to my folks house to pick up the boys and to eat a birthday dinner with them. It was a Clam and Shrimp pasta, and then we had a lemon raspberry shortbread tart for my birthday desert! I will most definitely post the recipes to those, both are incredible!



Today I'm waiting for my big shiny birthday present to come.... Nate got me the brand new Nikon D700 and the 24-70mm 2.8 lens. I am beyond thrilled that I am moving up to a professional camera. The D700 is a full frame sensor camera. Meaning, it takes pictures closer to what a 35mm camera used to do, so larger photosites, much LESS noise and more detail.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

There's a Sale!

Oi Vey.

Yesterday Lucas took a good bite out of my deodorant and proceeded to vomit for a good couple hours.

Poison Control was called and they said that was normal, as deodorant is an "intestinal irritant." A huge load of laundry was run, and a miserable bub spent most of the afternoon in my arms.

And to add insult to injury... later in the evening, Seth accidentally caught Lucas in the corner of his eye with a Rubik Cube, and today Lucas is sporting his first black eye.

Lovely.

Other than that.... Check out my Photography site! I have a new splash page up. (the first page you see.)

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That's right! It's my annual birthday sale! Every year I get older, the deal seems to get sweeter, LOL! 29% off everything till Sunday night! Shop well! The discount will show up during check out.

While you are there, check out my new take on my first kit~



Little rascal was my first kit released in January 2006. I have reworked it, and am now bring you a boy-delicious new kit, close to my heart!

Included in Little rascal are 7 boyish papers, 3 buttons, 3 tags, 3 stars, 3 Popsicle sticks, 2 folded shoelaces, 2 frames, 2 paper airplanes, 1 cardboard element, 1 glue, 1 staple, and 1 wagon element.

Get it HERE!

Some CT examples~





Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Unleashing the Artist Within....

My lil' Picasso... got so excited to paint his own little cars!




Speaking of art...


{yeah, I know... a little belated in creating... LOL!}

Credits HERE.

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And.... how about unleashing your child's very own MONSTER?

You will love this site, you (or your kids... of course!) can design your own monster! They are super cute and super affordable!

Curly Q Cuties


Monday, August 18, 2008

What I'm Really Loving....

I am really loving my photos printed on canvas lately. That canvas texture really brings something new to my art.




And while these aren't on canvas, they were mounted on matboard, and stand nicely propped against the wall. These shelves are still a work in progress!


I have all of these printed through my Pro Lab.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Carnival Goodness....

As I'd mentioned earlier, we took the whole family to our local County Fair on Tuesday.

It was just as good as Christmas! Nate and I got the biggest kick out of watching the joy on Seth's face, and hearing him get so excited and laugh out loud on rides.





I look so BIG on this ride below. LOL!



And just in case you thought we left Lucas in the basement at home....


The next day, sharing our candied apple.


Thursday, August 14, 2008

Lulu

New by myself~ Lulu


Lulu kit is a striking kit filled with FUN! It's casual, it colorful, it's playful!

Included in Lulu are 9 artistic papers, 3 beveled gem brads, 3 buttoned flowers, 3 stitched hearts, 2 flourishes, 2 ribbon wrapped frames, 2 recipe journal cards, 1 button, 1 leaf element, 1 stitched flower, and 1 tied ribbon.


Some Creative Team examples....







Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

gross....

While in the check out line of our Grocery Store yesterday...

Seth: "mmm Mama, this gum is good."

Me: "what gum? I didn't give you gum? Where did you get that?" I'm thinking he opened a pack in the check out line and took it.

Seth: "right here!" and points to the underside of the cart bumper.

oh. gag.

I think I even saw the check out girl pale and then shudder.

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For credits, see HERE.

Journaling reads: My monkeys, creating laughter, making music, living art.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

My Heart...

I am really blessed that my boys are great sleepers. We all sleep in till about 8:30 am. Well I've done something new the past 2 mornings. I've actually crawled out of bed when Nate's gotten up at 7:15, and then I've gone and ran my 3 miles. This is a stretch for me to get up and go, but its much cooler and its really opened up my day.

Tonight is our county's fair. I'm SO excited to take the boys. Hopefully we can all get on the Farris Wheel together.


First scrap in a long time! Felt good!

Journaling reads: Sometimes my heart does pitter patters when I look at you. I literally feel it break when I realize again how handsome you both are. My breath catches in my throat and then I rejoice in knowing you are all mine!

Credits: See HERE

As for questions from yesterday~ I just grab whatever album I like at Target, LOL! They are the 3 up albums, and they are primarily just our family snapshots. I store the albums in my China Cabinet. I used Snapfish to upload, host, and print the pictures. I feel that this is a GREAT idea, because Lord Forbid, if there is ever a fire or flood, I know I have my photos backed up online.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Burns' Curb Appeal....

At long last! We finally got the front door painted, and now you can see our before and after of our house-front.

Before: WAAAY overgrown, teal green exterior. (Seriously?!?!? Who picked that? No wonder the house didn't sell right away!)


After: new landscaping and painted. You may notice the the bush on the right of the 2 middle bushes looks sparse. It is a transplant bush, and I'm hoping it survives and thrives!



Want a tour of the inside? Revisit this old blog post. And maybe This One too. :c)

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I feel liberated and free today. I am finally all caught up on printing out our personal family pictures. Hello, my name is Andrea, and I'm a non-printing slacker. It started after Lucas was born... it was the new mommy fog for the first couple months. Then we moved 300 miles. All of a sudden, Lucas was 16 months old, and hardly any photographic proof!

So over the past couple months I've been slowly editing and uploading and printing. A total of 1500 prints. Over 3 albums filled.

Deep breath.... man, that feels great! I am all caught up through June of '08, and I hereby solemnly swear I won't let it get out of hand like that again!

Friday, August 08, 2008

For Laughs....



What The Duck Website: Photography Related Comics

lol.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Just Because....



{Because flying with Nunkie Butch is the bestest ever}

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

{The D Family}






A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure to shoot the D family in a local park. It was a hot day... but regardless of the heat, these boys were really well behaved, and the whole family was such a treat to work with!